EHL Hockey League Week 13 2023 Matchday Review

It was a day to remember in the Vitality Women's Hockey League as the away sides made their mark. Holcombe picked up their first away win of the season with a dominant 4-0 victory over Buckingham. Amelie Green got the ball rolling early with a well-placed shot before Tania Escaich doubled the lead with two quickfire goals. Catherine Ledesma sealed the win with a strike in the 27th minute.

The Loughborough Students and Reading faced off in a highly anticipated match at Loughborough University. Loughborough got off to a strong start, taking the lead through Maisie Riley's expertly taken penalty corner in the first half. However, Reading fought back and equalized through Georgia Hopkins' penalty corner. Loughborough regained their lead through Lorna Mackenzie, but Reading's persistence paid off as they managed to secure a late equalizer through another penalty corner; this time Jen Crossley had the final touch. The match ended in a 2-2 draw, with both sides putting on an entertaining display for the spectators.

Beeston caused an upset as they claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Hampstead & Westminster. It was a milestone day for Beeston's Lauren Burrell, who made her 100th appearance for the club, marking the occasion in style with the winning goal.

Wimbledon clinched a 1-0 victory over Clifton Robinsons with a first-half penalty corner from Beth Bingham. 

In a closely contested match, the University of Birmingham and the University of Nottingham played out a 2-1 result, with Maddie Axford and Merle Knobloch scoring for Nottingham and Coca Hall netting for Birmingham.

With their first away win of the season, Holcombe now boast an impressive four-match unbeaten run. Reading, meanwhile, have remained unbeaten in their last five matches.

Welcome to our Men's Hockey League matchday review, where we'll take a look at the exciting action that took place this weekend. Teams were fighting for valuable points in a bid to move up the league standings.

Unfortunately, the scheduled match between Wimbledon and Hampstead & Westminster was postponed due to the schedule of the European Hockey Indoor Championship. The tournament, which was due to take place in Turkey, was postponed due to the recent natural disaster in the host country. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the disaster.

Surbiton hosted Holcombe in an enthralling encounter, securing a 3-2 victory in the dying minutes of the match to move up to second place in the league table. Tim Nurse opened the scoring early on with a penalty corner before Phil Roper leveled the scores for Holcombe in the 28th minute. Surbiton hit the back of Ollie Payne's net either side of Nick Bandurak's 20th goal of the season for Holcombe, the latter of which was Luke Taylor hitting the winner in the final minute of the game.

Old Georgians continued their unbeaten run, defeating Reading 2-1 in a closely contested match. Lee Morton opened the scoring for Old Georgians in the 37th minute with a penalty corner before Adam Pescod equalised for Reading just three minutes later with a penalty corner. The decisive goal came in the 51st minute, with James Alberry scoring to secure all three points for Old Georgians.

Oxted hosted Brooklands Manchester University and played out a 2-2 draw, with both teams sharing the points. It was a tough match, as both teams fought hard for the win. Matt Barnett scored early on for Oxted before Finn Ward leveled the scores for Brooklands in the 23rd minute. In the second half, Matthew Crookshanks put Oxted back in front with a penalty corner, but it was not enough to secure the win as Craig Falconer equalised for Brooklands in the 68th minute with a penalty corner.

In an exciting match, East Grinstead travelled to the University of Nottingham and secured a 4-3 victory over the home team. It was a nail-biting match, with both teams going all out for the win. Ben Mackey opened the scoring for East Grinstead in the 15th minute with a penalty corner before Simon Faulkner doubled their lead in the 27th minute with a penalty stroke. Fin Boothroyd extended East Grinstead's lead in the first minute of the second half, before Hugh Page pulled one back for the University of Nottingham.  Richard Lane added a fourth for the away team in the 51st minute, before Charlie Axford and Louis Tipper scored for the hosts to set up a tense finish. With this win, East Grinstead has now made it three away wins in a row.

Beeston secured a 4-2 victory over the University of Exeter in a thrilling match that saw them secure back-to-back wins for only the second time this season. Ollie Drummond opened the scoring early on for the University of Exeter with a penalty corner in the 5th minute, before George Fletcher leveled the scores for Beeston just four minutes later. Rohan Bhuhi put Beeston in front in the 18th minute with a well-placed shot.
Drummond then equalised for the University of Exeter in the first minute of the second half with another penalty corner. However, Beeston took control of the match in the second half, with Jamie Golden scoring two goals in the 57th and 68th minutes, both from penalty corners. It was a great performance by the Beeston team, and a thrilling moment for their fans.

These matches have once again demonstrated the high level of competition and passion that defines the Men's Hockey League. With so many exciting matches yet to come, it will be interesting to see how the league standings evolve over the coming weeks.